Scrushy Jury Selection Is Underway

Jury selection began Wednesday in the federal fraud trial of Richard Scrushy as dozens of potential jurors began filling out questionnaires about themselves and their knowledge of the case against the fired HealthSouth Corp. chief executive. Scrushy is accused of heading a conspiracy to overstate earnings by $2.7 billion.

Court officials said more than 110 prospective jurors showed up on the first day of the weeklong process, with a total of 300 expected to report by Friday. Preliminary screening is being held behind closed doors.

Attorneys must pick 12 jurors and six alternates. Opening statements are set for Jan. 18, and the trial is expected to last 10 to 12 weeks.

Scrushy, 52, has pleaded not guilty to a 58-count indictment charging him with conspiracy, fraud, perjury, obstruction of justice and money laundering. He also is charged with false certification of corporate finances in the first test of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in 2002 in response to a wave of corporate fraud cases.

A judge asked prospective jurors about hardships such as medical excuses and child-care problems before the questionnaires were distributed, officials said. A prosecutor and a defense lawyer were present, but an aide said Scrushy did not attend.

“It’s a procedural thing. It’s not anything he needs to be there for,” Scrushy spokesman Charlie Russell said.

Scrushy did make an appearance on local TV, though: A Bible-study program he and his wife have hosted on a paid basis since March aired as normal. Russell said Scrushy would not use the show to discuss the trial because of a partial gag order issued by U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre.

Prosecutors say Scrushy was behind a scheme to overstate HealthSouth earnings from 1996 to 2002, a move they contend kept the company’s stock price high by making it appear that the rehabilitation giant was meeting Wall Street forecasts.

Scrushy could be sentenced to 450 years in prison and fined more than $30 million if convicted of all charges. Prosecutors also are seeking about $278 million in assets from Scrushy.